The woman at the center of a massive political scandal that has led to the suspension of South Korean president Park Geun-hye has appeared in court, denying all charges on the first day of her trial.
Choi Soon-sil, Park’s friend of 40 years, appeared at the Seoul Central District Court on Monday and flatly denied charges of fraud.
Choi is accused of using her relations with the president and conspiring with her to coerce large corporations into paying tens of millions of dollars in “donations” to organizations under Choi’s control.
“I’m sorry for causing trouble. I’ll faithfully engage in (my) trial,” Choi said at the court even as she denied any wrongdoing.
Her lawyer, Lee Kyoung-jae, also rejected the charges, arguing that Choi did not collude with the president or other defendants in the case.
Choi, who had not appeared in public since October, has caused a massive political scandal, ending in the impeachment and suspension of the president.
Park has apologized for carelessness in her ties with Choi but she, too, has denied any wrongdoing. She has been stripped of her presidential duties, nevertheless, and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn has taken over as acting president.
The constitutional court now has up to 180 days to rule on the validity of the impeachment vote in a process that will involve arguments from both sides in public hearings.
If the court ratifies the vote, Park would be removed permanently and a new presidential election would be held within 60 days. She would be the first democratically-elected president in South Korea to be removed. If not, her powers would be restored.
The president’s lawyers submitted a 24-page rebuttal to the court on Friday, arguing that the impeachment vote had no legal foundation. They called on the court to restore her powers.